GALLERY: Land of the Lions at ZSL London Zoo Crafting an Immersive Exhibit with Bespoke Plaques and Hand Painted Signage
Older projects sometimes contain some of the most beautiful details. Our work for Land of the Lions at ZSL London Zoo is one of those projects - full of craft, atmosphere and visual interest and still striking years later.
Inspired by the Asiatic lions’ forest home in India’s Gir region, the exhibit was designed to feel transportive from the moment visitors arrive. The painted shopfronts, market details and richly layered signage all contribute to an atmosphere that feels closely observed and full of personality, with small visual cues helping build a convincing sense of place throughout.
For Glyphics, this project was an opportunity to create signage that felt less like a layer added afterwards and more like part of the world itself. The standout pieces were the bespoke plaques: detailed, decorative and full of presence, designed to sit naturally within the exhibit rather than apart from it.
The scheme includes brass plaques set back into dark wood surrounds, featuring etched lettering infilled with black powder paint for a charming patina. These work side by side with framed wooden donor boards - the larger wall-mounted version has a simpler bevelled edge, while the smaller post-mounted board is topped with an antique-style canopy. Both iterations are finished in dark stained timber, hand painted signwriting, border patterns and precisely applied names, bringing warm authenticity to the exhibit through heritage-inspired materials.
Glyphics’ donor and dedication plaques combined ornamental detail, pops of colour and thoughtfully handled typography with a sense of age, craft and narrative. Alongside these, secondary signage such as stylised welcome signs helped carry the identity of the space further, contributing to an environment in which every component played a part in the storytelling.
What makes the project especially memorable is the way information and atmosphere work together. The signs communicate clearly, while also feeling like part of the exhibit rather than an afterthought. They feel expressive, tactile and rooted in the visual language of Land of the Lions itself.
Taken together, the plaques, painted signage and surrounding details do more than provide facts – they help build a conceptualised world around the visitor. They turn the space into somewhere textured, transportive and vividly imagined, showing how signage, when designed as part of the environment from the outset, can shape our experience of a place as well as help us understand it.
